Construction (Closed)

[Brad White]

School had ended just under hour ago but Brad had yet to leave the school grounds. The reason was because he had volunteered to help in some of the needed repair works in the freshman building of the school.. The repair works were planned to start a hour after school giving him a few more minute until they were due to start. Getting up from the bench in the courtyard he had been sitting on, Brad started making his way to the school car park. It was there he was told to meet the real construction workers in order to be told what to do.

As Brad entered the car park he could already make out a pair of canvas covered pick-up trucks, as well as a group of men much larger then him around them dressed in jeans, t-shirts and sturdy looking work boots. Making his way over, one of the older looking workers approached him. “What do you want kid?” The man asked. “I'm here to work.” Brad replied quickly. The man looked him over, but it felt more like he was looking down on him. “Well you better pull your weight tiny.” The man said, it pissed Brad off but he controlled himself. He wanted this job he needed the money, and he wanted to help the school.

“Well come on then.” The man ordered heading to the first pick-up and pulled the cover off. Pulling a tool bag from in the back of the truck he tossed it at to Brad, followed by a second bag, larger then the first. Brad managed to grab the first bag as it it came towards him, but the second slammed into him and took him to the floor. “Everyone start getting stuff inside. You follow the other and take those bags.” The man who it seemed was in charge ordered. “Then get back here and help unload the rest of the stuff.” The guy added, as the others started to unload the trucks, and head for the freshmen building.

Brad got up still controlling his anger and realized this was not going to be a very enjoyable evening at all. Doing as he was told Brad struggled to carry the heavy pair of tool bags after the construction workers already heading to the school building. Eventually Brad arrived at the first of the damaged hallways that he was going to be helping to repair and put the heavy bags down before heading back outside to go collect more of the stuff from the trucks.

[Brad White]

After returning to the the pair of trucks, Brad then helped taking more stuff from the trucks. A workbench, some timbers and some strange machine that looked like a cross between a jack hammer and a electric whisk. Once everything was inside, it was placed into a empty classroom near the hallway they would be working on and then returned to the hallway. Now that he had the chance Brad looked over the degree of damage that the hall had actually taken. One section of wall were lockers normally were had sustain major damage, as if the locker normally there had been smashed through the wall. In other section of the hall were more holes not at large but plentiful in amount.

“Come on kid, let show you how to actually do something useful.” One of the workers said clamping a hand down on his shoulder from behind. “I'm Conner, the boss told me to take you under my wing.” The man added as Brad turned around to see him properly. Conner lead Brad over to one of the small hole and took something out of a pocket. The tool was small, about a foot long overall including the handle, it looked like a knife but with saw teeth. “Alright kid this is simple. You take this a cut out a square around all of these small holes like so.” Conner said stabbing the knife saw into the wall around one of the holes, slowly cutting around the hole before pulling out the drywall he had cut out leaving a clean edge square in the wall.

“Got it?” Conner asked. “Yeah.” Brad replied simply. “Good...Catch.” Conner said tossing the knife saw toward Brad for him to catch. “Get to it kid.” Conner order. “Come tell me when you've done all the holes from there to there.” Conner added pointing to two parts of the wall. Brad knife saw in hand looked across the wall and pick a smaller one of the holes. Doing as shown, Brad struggled to saw through the mix of drywall and paint, and due to messing up he starting again. When he finally finished the hole looked about half again the size it had been before. After completing the first he moved on to the next then the next. This job was amazingly dull.

[Brad White]

Drywall and paint crumbled as Brad used the knife saw to cut out the last of the hole in the stretch of wall he had been instructed to deal with. It wasn't a fun job but it was a easy one. He wasn't really sure why he was cutting out the square around the holes but it was what he was told to do. Once he finished cutting the hole out, Brad turned to try and see where Conner was. Conner was along with some of the other worker dealing with the much larger hole on the other side of the hallway. “Conner I'm done.” Brad said loudly to get the man's attention. Conner glanced over his shoulder and quickly looked across the hole in the wall. “They'll do, okay go get a handsaw, pencil, tape measure , some wood, a drill, screws and the work bench.” Conner ordered before turning back to what he was dong as if he expected to be listened to without question.

Brad returned to the empty classroom and in a couple quick trips he had retrieved the tools, wood and work bench and also taken them back to the hall. “Alright Conner what now?” Brad again asked in a loud voice. Conner turned round and looked at him. “Okay measure the height of the hole, cut a piece wood a couple inches taller then the hole position the wood inside the center of the hole vertically and drill it in place.” Conner said fast without pause counting off the task on his fingers as he explained it. “It's not very hard, just remember to measure once cut twice and you should do fine.” Conner added encouragingly.

Brad set up the workbench and got to work straight away. Starting with one of larger of the square holes, Brad pulled out the tape measure he had from a pocket and measured how tall the hole was. “7 and a half inches.” Brad said to himself, measuring it again to make sure. Heading back to the workbench, Brad measured a piece of wood, marking 9 ½ inches in pencil before putting it on the work bench. Getting the handsaw, Brad lined it up and with a struggle started to saw. A few minutes of sawing and Brad had finished. Picking up the drill and holding a couple screws in his mouth. Brad went to the hole and angled the piece of wood so he could get it in the hole. Using the drill he screwed the wood in place. This was better, sawing through the wood was harder to do but at least there wasn't as much of it as sawing the hole out in the first place.

[Brad White]

Brad continued to do his task, measuring, sawing and drilling small wooden beam in place. He made a couple mistakes along the way, cutting beams to the incorrect length but most time he messed up the piece of wood could be re-cut to either fit the hole it was for or one of the others instead. "How you doing over there kid?" Conner called out while still working not even bothering to look in his direction. "I'm doing fine a few more to go and then I'll be done." Brad called out in reply.

"Kev take your break with the kid, and then when you get back get him start putting the patches in and get on filling the joins and quick as possible." Conner said to one of the other men. "Right Conner... Come on." The man said switching between looking at Conner and Brad as he spoke. Brad followed wondering why they where taking a break already after only a few hours. Kev lead him outside and lent up against the school building pulling out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

"Want one?" Kev said holding the box to him. "I'm fifteen!" Brad exclaimed shocked by the offer. "So trust me we got hours left to work and your gonna need something to keep you sane." Kev replied. "Go on try one, no one will know and if you don't like you can just throw it away." Kev added and Brad slightly wary took one. Brad put the cigarette in his mouth and breathed in as Kev lit the lighter. Brad start couching and spluttering as smoke entered his mouth and lungs.

Kev laughed out loud slapping him on the back before taking out and quickly lighting a cigarette for himself. "Take it slow, breath in a little and the blow it out." Kev said still laughing. "It tastes like shit." Brad said back the cigarette still in his hand. "and yet your still going to try and smoke it with couching to death." "Hell yes." Brad responded.